Trains on display at 34th Mid-Michigan Model Train Show in Finch Fieldhouse
Holton native Fred Gandolfi, 64, works on one of the many trains during the 35th Annual Mid-Michigan Model Train Show, March 22, in Finch Fieldhouse.
As Buddy Shields surveyed the hundreds of model trains on display in Finch Fieldhouse, he noted the hobby has slowly begun to disappear within his generation.
“You don’t really see people our age here,” said the junior at Central Michigan University. “It’s a lost hobby. It takes a lot of time and dedication.”
Shields, along with many others, hoped to pass on this historically enriched hobby and revive the craft, Sunday, March 22, at the 34th annual Mid-Michigan Model Train Show, hosted by CMU in Finch.
Hundreds of model train builders, vendors and community members gathered in Finch to celebrate the craft of model train building, and the history of the railroad.
Attendees ranged from young children to senior citizens, to CMU students.
Two of the primary organizers for this annual event, Dan Folds and Betty Louis, explained that creating train models is a hobby that not only provides a healthy and fun productivity for whomever partakes in it, but that it also has an important history rooted in its origin that should be taught, remembered, and passed on for more generations to come.
“Lots of family’s parents worked on railroads and brought models of their work home," Folds said. "They enjoyed their job.”
Louis pointed to the historical importance of railroads and trains, as a cause of their continued popularity. She said railroad construction, once a very common profession, affected many families across the country.
“My father was an engineer for railroads and that’s how he put himself through college,” Louis said. "They made it a point to explain that railroads not only impacted the United States in a broader sense, but it also positively influenced individual lives on a more intimate level."
Mike Ben, one of the train model creators, began participating in the hobby in 1979 and treats it just as that: a hobby that puts him at ease and brings him enjoyment. After he left the army, he started a club with some of his friends and they collectively decided that building train models would be a pleasant way to spend their time.
He does not necessarily know everything there is to know about creating train models, Ben said, but because they all enjoy the hobby, the group simply collaborates with one another in order to get the job done.
“There are very minimal skills needed and it brings together a lot of different people," Ben said. “If there’s something that you like, you don’t necessarily have to be an expert at it to pursue it.”
